Marrakech’s Work with Youth: A Model for Success!

The Work to Learn Centers are based on the Work to Learn Model developed by Alan MacKenzie of Street Smart Ventures (www.ssventures.com). The general idea is that when you integrate life and academic skills into paid work experiences, youth are more likely to retain the information and apply it to real life situations. 

At the beginning of the program, each youth participates in a Youth-Run Business, typically facilitated by a member of the local business community at Marrakech or at a local business nearby.  Each youth has the opportunity to participate in several Youth-Run Businesses for as long as they would like or until basic work readiness skills such as timeliness, ability to stay on task and following directions are demonstrated. 

Following the Youth Business, they can move on to an external internship where the youth will be mentored by a member of the local business community and paid a stipend from Marrakech. Finally, youth will be moved to job placement services to seek part time or full time employment.

All youth admitted to the Work to Learn program (90 youth at any given time between the two sites) have an Individual Development Account (IDA) opened in their name. Youth deposit a percentage of the stipend money towards their future savings. Youth who remain active with DCF and the Work to Learn Center may receive a match of up to $1,000 per year (not to exceed $3,000 over 3 years) when withdrawing money from their IDAs for the purchase of approved assets.  Approved assets are stock market investments or purchases made to meet educational, transportation or housing needs.

The Work to Learn Centers have shown that youth who participate in the programs are graduating from high school and successfully moving on to post-secondary training, college or full time employment.  In fact, many of them are able to access CHAP services (discussed in our previous blog post) to assist them with moving from the structured environment of foster care and the Work to Learn program, to living and managing on their own for the first time.

The raised beds in the picture below is one of the Work to Learn Center's Youth Business projects.  Youth are learning the basics of farming and are then able to use the produce grown in their culinary program.

Next up - DCF Community Based Life Skills Program – Learn more in our next Blog post!